A Message To My Girl
by emeraldeyedirishdaughter
Summary: Thirteen year old Rose always wanted to talk to her father.  Would the magics of All Hallows Eve give her that chance? In terms of the Doctor this fic follows after the events of Waters of Mars.


_**Author Notes: This story was written for the bad wolf rising Halloween ficathon over at live journal. I will post the prompts used at the end of this fic. This fic is contains much more angst then I usually write but I hope you enjoy it. Thank you to jer832 for being the wonderful beta on this story. Disclaimer: Doctor Who and its characters are owned by the BBC and sadly not by me. I just like to play with them a bit.**_

"**Rose!**"

"Yeah, what Mum?"

"Can you come here a minute?"

Rose huffed loudly and put down the _Smash Hits_ magazine she'd been reading, then headed to her mother's room.

"You seen those blue earrings of mine?" asked Jackie. "You know, the ones with the sparkly stuff on them?"

"They're in your top drawer."

"No, I just checked there," said Jackie; but Rose was adamant.

"Let me have a look." Rose did a quick search of the drawer and found the earrings hidden away beneath some other trinkets. With an exasperated sigh she handed them to her mum.

"Well fancy that, they were there after all. Think I must be going blind in my old age," Jackie said jokingly with a smile. Rose smiled too, but only half-heartedly, a fact her mother did not miss.

"Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't mind me going out tonight, do you? I know it's Halloween and all, but I really need this. That rat, Joe, dumped me yesterday; and maybe it's just that time of the month, but I feel miserable."

Although she was young, Rose instinctively knew there was more to her mother's sadness then just breaking up with her latest boyfriend. In one week's time it would be the seventh of November. The thirteenth anniversary of the day her father, Pete Tyler, died. Rose had learnt a long time ago how much Jackie's behaviour changed around that time of year. Alcohol and sleeping pills were the annual cure for her pain. It looked as if this year would be no different.

"I just need a night out with Bev and cousin Mo. I won't drink too much, and I'm sure I'll feel heaps better tomorrow," Jackie said unconvincingly.

Rose nodded, even though they both knew it was a lie.

"I don't like leaving you on your own though," grumbled her mother. "I was going to get Tina to come over, but she's got a last minute date."

"Mum, I'm thirteen years old," argued Rose. "I can take care of myself. Besides, Mickey's flat is just over the way. His Gran isn't well, but if there's a problem I'll just go there." She leaned over to give her mother a hug. "Don't worry about me, okay? Go and have a good time."

It did not take much to convince Jackie. She left the flat shortly after, leaving Rose alone.

After fixing herself a meal, Rose switched on the television; but the channels were full of Halloween repeats and she got bored very quickly. The inside of the flat felt stuffy, and the lure of adventure outside tempting; so she called Shireen and asked her to meet up downstairs. After hanging up, she grabbed her coat and headed out the door.

The residents of the Powell Estate may not have been the Queen's classiest subjects, but they certainly knew how to celebrate Halloween. As Rose looked up at the flats, she could see numerous balconies decorated with a mix of shop-bought and home-made decorations. Coloured lights hung off fixed points, and there were Jack-o-lanterns aplenty. In the courtyard, children wearing a variety of costumes were everywhere, clutching their sweet baskets like priceless treasure.

Because her mother was grieving at this time in Rose's life, Rose never got the chance to be one of those children. She could not help the pang of disappointment that washed over her but she quickly chided herself for being so childish. She was too old for trick or treating or for dressing up in silly costumes. Her Dad was dead and her mum did the best she could; the least she could do was to stop wishing for the impossible.

But as another young child ran by, her blonde hair streaming behind her, Rose could not stop thinking about what might have been. If Pete had lived, would they still even be living in the Estates? Mum had always told her that her Dad was constantly coming up with schemes to make money. Maybe if he had lived he could have been successful. Perhaps he would have made the big time with some health drink or something. Rose wondered what their lives might have been like then. Perhaps the Halloween holiday might have been different for so many years. _Her Mum would be happy and her Dad … well … he would walk beside her while she joined in the fun of collecting as many treats as she could. He would laugh at the tricks some of the other children played or perhaps come up with some of his own, though it would just be a secret between him and her. _

"Oi, Tyler."

Rose jumped at the sound of her name before realising that Shireen was standing right beside her.

"Called you twice, but you never even blinked. What were you thinking about that's so important?"

"Sorry, Shireen, it's nothing, really. Just …" She didn't want to admit to thinking about her Dad and the 'what ifs". Luckily her friend jumped to another obvious conclusion.

"It's you're mum, right? She on her annual binge?"

Rose felt her hackles rise at Shireen's careless tone; but as she could not dispute the truth, she let go of her resentment and just nodded.

"Well, good thing you called me," chuckled Shireen. "I've got something here that we can have some proper Halloween fun with."

For the first time Rose noticed the covered object on the ground at her friend's feet. "What is it?" she asked, but Shireen just giggled. "The playground will be pretty empty since everyone's out knocking on doors for candy. Let's go there and I'll show you what I've brought."

Always ready for adventure, Rose agreed, and the two friends sped off for the park.

As Shireen predicted, it was virtually empty, so she and Rose sat themselves down on the vacant roundabout. Knowing that she had her friend's full attention, Shireen took her time unveiling the hidden object and rejoiced in Rose's gasp as a Ouija board was revealed.

"Where'd you get this?" she asked.

"Mum's new boyfriend is into all this stuff. He was supposed to come over tonight; but Mum said he got nabbed by the cops for drugs, so I nicked it when you called."

Rose ran her fingers over the wood with a delicate touch. "Isn't this sort of thing supposed to be dangerous?" she wondered out loud.

"Why, you afraid?" sneered Shireen.

Rose quickly withdrew her hand from the board to plant it on the side of her hip. "No, I'm not," she said defiantly. "I'm not afraid of anything."

Taken aback by Rose's reaction, Shireen quickly backed down. "Okay, Rosie. I was just teasing. Just thought we might have bit of fun, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, Shireen. I'm a little touchy. Just a bit worried about Mum. She's hurting a lot right now."

"She's not the only one," sympathised her friend as she gave Rose a quick hug.

"Yeah, guess so; but I'm not gonna sit here and mope. You got the little pointer thing for this board?"

"Nah, couldn't find it. But I'm sure we can use something else."

Rose looked around and eventually found a metal bottle cap, which Shireen pronounced as being perfect.

"So how does this work?" asked Rose. "I mean, I've seen it in movies and stuff, but never tried this before."

"Well, Scott explained it to Mum, so I got a bit of an idea." Shireen then went on to explain the rules; and soon the girls were sitting on the ground with the board on their knees, serious expressions on their faces. Shireen had explained that contacting the spirits wouldn't work if someone was being silly. At first Rose found it interesting, asking questions to try and contact great Aunt Bonny or Cousin Jason; but as time passed and nothing happened, she very soon grew tired of the activity. The next time Shireen asked a question, Rose pushed the bottle cap towards letters that spelt out an answer that was entirely ridiculous. That broke the spell of solemn silence because both girls were laughing hard, fit to burst.

"What are you doing?" said a slightly slurred male voice from behind them.

"Never you mind," scolded Shireen. "Just go away."

"Why, you looking to see who your future boyfriends are?"

"Well it won't be you, Jimmy Stone," said Rose as she finally turned around to glare at the lanky teenager.

"Whatever," he scoffed. "You're not my type anyway."

"Just go before I -"

"Before you what? Set your dad on me. Oh, that's right you don't have one. Poor little Rosie with her drunk mummy and … OW!"

Rose stood there, eyes blazing and blood on her fist from Jimmy's nose. She was about to leap forward and hit him again when Shireen intervened, pulling her back.

"Rose, he isn't worth it," she pleaded. To Jimmy she said, "Leave now before I tell everyone that you got beat up by a girl."

Jimmy snarled once; but as he had his hands over his nose, it sounded more like a pitiful cat's meow. Shireen was shaking in laughter as he retreated, but her mirth quickly subsided when she saw that her best friend was in tears.

"Don't listen to him," said Shireen as she placed a comforting arm around Rose's shoulder. "Saying what he did … well we both know he's a complete wanker."

"I know. I shouldn't let him get to me," replied Rose tearfully, "but I see all these other kids with their dads, and I feel like I'm missing out sometimes."

"Judging from some of the Dads around here, you're not missing out on much."

Rose wiped away her remaining tears with the sleeve of her coat. "Mum always talks about Dad like he's the most wonderful man on earth. I just wish I could have known him. It's silly but I wish I could talk to him, just once."

Shireen sighed softly. It was not the first time she'd heard these words from Rose. "Look, not to be mean or anything, but you know that's impossible."

Rose started to nod, but then her eyes fell to the abandoned Ouija board lying on the ground. "Maybe not," she muttered softly.

Shireen quickly caught onto what her friend was thinking, but she was not overly keen on the idea. "I don't think it would work Rose."

"Why not?"

"Aunt Bonny used to put her canasta group to sleep, she talked so much. If we couldn't contact her, what makes you think we'll be able to get in touch with your Dad?"

"I don't know, but maybe it will work because I really want this with my whole heart. I just know I need to try. You were the one who said Halloween was the best time to contact the dead. Or was that whole door between worlds stuff just crap?" argued Rose a little aggressively. "Or are you just scared?" she said, repeating the other girl's earlier words back to her.

"No!" cried Shireen indignantly, although she could not help the slight shiver of fear that ran through her. They'd just been mucking around earlier, which had been fun; but this was different.

Seeing her friend's indecision, Rose pleaded, "Please help me. I can't do this without you. Mum would freak out if I asked her, and you are the only one I can trust."

Shireen gave in. Picking up the Ouija Board, she gave a nervous smile. "All right, Rose; but if your Dad possesses me or something, you get to explain it to Mum."

Under the All Hallows moon, the two girls sat cross-legged facing each other, the board nestled in their laps. The mood was solemn, all traces of joviality gone as Shireen attempted to call down the spirit of Pete Tyler. Twice she tried to make contact, but there was no movement from the bottle cap. Shireen was caught between feeling sad for her friend and relief that nothing had occurred. "I don't think it's going to work," she said after one more try, but Rose was not willing to give up just yet.

"Let me have a go," she demanded. Shireen reluctantly agreed.

The minutes ticked by as Rose made her attempts, but still the bottle cap remained stationary. Blinking back the tears of disappointment, she knew it was time to go home. Jackie would need her help getting ready for bed after her night out, and someone had to be alert enough in the morning to make the truckloads of black coffee that would be needed.

She turned to Shireen and was just about to speak when the bottle cap under their fingers went crazy. Both girls automatically snatched their hands back and gazed wildly at each other.

"Did you do that?" asked Rose

"No," answered Shireen, her voice shaking. "I though it was just you mucking around again."

They both looked down at the cap. Rose stretched out her hand to touch it again, but Shireen pulled her hand back. "Not a good idea, Rosie. What if it's not your Dad? This is the real thing and I'm scared, Rose. Really and truly scared."

"Me, too," replied her friend. "But I have to find out for sure." She reached out and placed her fingers on the bottle cap again. Shortly after, Shireen placed her fingers on it too.

In a frightened voice, Rose spoke to the empty night around them. "Are we in the presence of Pete Tyler?" A few moments passed and then under their fingers the bottle cap slowly moved across the board to say _YES_. Shireen made a small sound of terror, but Rose pressed forward, wanting to be certain she was talking to her father.

"You are Peter Alan Tyler?" Again the answer on the board was _YES_.

"When did you die? This time the cap moved to the numbers _seven, one_ and then _one_ twice more followed by _nine, eight and seven_. "7th November, 1987," mouthed Rose to her friend. "If you are Pete Tyler, who is your wife? Slowly the make shift pointer moved from one letter to another, eventually spelling out _Jacqueline Suzette Anita Prentiss._

"That's not right. Mum's name is Jacqueline Angela Suzette Prentiss." In the still night air, Rose fancied she heard a man laughing. The pointer began to move again. Letters formed words until the sentence read; _I never did get her name right._

"That's true," whispered Rose to Shireen. "Mum always said he was hopeless at remembering her name. Even got it wrong at their wedding, apparently."

"Keep going," muttered Shireen back. She was still terrified, but at least the spirit of Pete Tyler seemed to be a friendly soul.

Rose could not help the wave of wild excitement that swept through her. Impossible though it might seem, she was talking to her Dad. There were so many things she wanted to say, but she had one further question to ask first. "Do you know who I am?"

The scrape of mental on wood soon gave her an answer. _You are my Rose._

Rose almost cried with joy. Not _you are Rose, _but_ you are __**MY**__ Rose_. It was as if she really meant something to him even though she'd only been six months old when he had died.

"How do you know it's me?" she finally managed to ask. More minutes ticked by, but the spirit of Pete Tyler did not disappoint her. _I have watched you grow._

"But you're dead," she blurted out. "How can you have watched me?"

It took longer this time for the reply to come, but eventually it did. _You carry me in your heart_. At least another minute passed before the bottle cap spelled out Pete's next sentence. _There is a lot of me in you_.

It was almost too much for Rose. The letters on the board went blurry as her tears fell, but she did not take her fingers from the pointer. "My Daddy," she said aloud. Once again the bottle cap moved to _YES. _Then it spelt out _always,_ and then the words that Rose knew were inevitable but dreaded. M_y time grows short. I must go_.

"Please stay," she pleaded, even though she knew it would be impossible. A sigh resonated inside her head, and once more the pointer was moving across the board. _Goodbye, my Rose. I will always be with you. One day you will see me again._

"What do you mean?" called Rose frantically, confusion now joining her sorrow; but the cap under her fingers remained still. She tried a few more times, but it soon became obvious that the ghost of Pete Tyler had gone. For a few moments she wondered if she had perhaps dreamt it all, but one look at Shireen's confused and scared expression convinced her that she had not. She quickly dried her eyes before seeing if her best friend was okay.

"Are you alright," they started to ask at the same time, and then they burst into nervous laughter. Although emotionally ragged, neither girl had sustained any bodily harm during the encounter.

"I can't believe you did it," said Shireen in wonder. "It seems you just don't know the meaning of impossible."

"I can't believe it either, but I wonder what he meant by saying he'd see me again?"

"Yeah, that was a bit weird. Maybe he was talking about heaven or something. You know, like they say in church about seeing those we love when we die."

Rose nodded. Then she gave her friend the biggest grin Shireen had seen in a long time. "You know, I don't even really care what it means. I got to talk to my Dad, Shireen! It doesn't matter what our lives would have been. It's enough to know he loves me and he's watching over me. I think I can live with that."

Shireen didn't know how to respond to that except to give her friend a hug. "You hungry?" she asked, pulling back. "The chippy around the corner is open late tonight. We can take this board back to my flat and then get something to eat."

"Sounds perfect," replied Rose. "Let's go."

As the two girls raced off into the night, they were oblivious to the man in the pinstriped suit watching them from the shadows with sorrowful eyes.

***0123456789***

As the Doctor walked back towards the TARDIS, he placed the sonic screwdriver into his coat pocket. He knew it was against the rules to do what he'd just done, but he found that he couldn't care. He was the last of the Time Lords, and time would bend to his will. Besides it would be six years before Rose would meet up with his former self and encounter her father. Plenty of time to come back and find a way to suppress the memory of tonight's events. The point was that he had made Rose smile, and that would save him from insanity. At least for a little while.

**_PROMPTS: A Ouija Board and this line: Jackie is out for the night. The sitter is watching TV. A young Rose tries to contact her father on Halloween. While I didn't follow the prompt to the full extent I've come pretty close. Enjoy!_**


End file.
